The Curse of Love
by Ai No Senshi
Summary: A curse is cast upon Serena, prohibiting her from touching Darien ever again. The only way for the curse to be broken, is if Darien should fall in love with another woman. But even if the curse is broken, will Darien ever love her again? revision
1. First Version

**AN: Don't panic! I know it has bad grammar and it's an example of horrendous writing, but this was the first edition from two years ago! This was actually my first fanfic ever, so that is why it's been on this site for two years. I decided to redo it, just because it was kind of a good idea. So if you want to see how far I've come in two years, read this chapter, then don't be scared and go ahead to chapter two. I promise it's not anything like this.**

I knew that if he touched me or if I touched him, we would die. That's why I keep identity a secret. I love him, but I don't want him to die. I can die that is fine with me, but he can't. When that evil witch did this to me I could have killed her, but she killed herself. So there is no way I can break this curse. I am stuck like this forever. I have searched for a cure, but there is none. Oh well. I will just live my life. Outcast as a no one. As a face in the crowd. I am not known to anyone. I have black hair, no odangos one bun on the back of my head like Pluto. No one cares. They don't have to. I don't even. I am always around him, just to see him. He doesn't know it though. I am just another of his maids. I work through the halls. Dusting, sweeping, washing windows and getting fingerprints off mirrors. No one notices me. No one.  
  
I was doing my normal thing. When it happened. I was in the hall cleaning a mirror, he walked by. I kept my face hidden, but he looked in the mirror. He saw my face. He kept walking for about two steps. Then he stopped and turned around. The mirror was clean, so I turned so he only saw my back and left. He didn't come after me. I guess he just thought he was seeing things. Oh my Darien. I almost cried, but then I got back to work. That night I had a dream. Actually, more of a flashback. The witch was chanting the words. I was right in front of her.  
  
"Until the time your love may break, his touch your life will take. The touch of love from him to you, will do more than you want it to." The witch chanted. We did have proof it would kill us, If you were wondering. The curse let us touch once. We both became very ill, the witch gave us the cure for the sickness and warned us. Then she killed herself. The hag.  
  
It occured to me that the cure would be for us not to be in love anymore. But that will never happen. I don't think so anyway. Otherwise he wouldn't look for me. I hear from other maids that he has had a search team out for the princess since the day she disappeared. He didn't bother to search his own castle though. Sometimes when no one is around and the guards aren't at his door. I go in his room while he is sleeping. He looks like an angel. He has nightmares though. Once he erupted screaming my name once. It frightened me. I left his room quickly that time. The generals were coming to make sure he was alright and I hid in the shadows until they went in. Then I left.  
  
The second time he caught sight of me I was very worried. I was walking down the hall and all of a sudden he appeared. Just right in front of me. I was very startled. I looked straight into his eyes then and I know he got a good look at me. I bowed quickly and muttered, "I am sorry, your highness." I went around him and I know he watched me leave. I think he really had a suspicion, then. But he really started to take action the next time.  
  
I had told my self to never let that happen again. One day though I couldn't help it. My old self came out. I slipped on a rug and landed flat on my back. He had seen the whole thing and ran over. "Are you okay, miss?" He asked. There I was, my back was killing me, and I saw him lean over me. I knew he was going to try to help me up. His face was gorgeous, I wanted to kiss him badly. After a second or two of him seeing my face a look of shock came upon his face. He was feeling the familiarity I was. I stood up quickly, being careful not to touch him. He reached out to grab my arm and I quickly pulled away. I ran down the hall in the other direction. He started after me. I turned left then right. I opened a storage room and quickly shut the door. He turned the corner to look for me, didn't see me anywhere, so just turned around and walked away. I came out of the closet and heard him say. "Put a castle wide search for a maid. She has long black hair and blue eyes. Now! Don't let anyone leave the castle."  
  
I was in for it now. There was no way out. Then I remembered the luna pen. I had to get to my room without anyone noticing me. I couldn't leave by the hall I came. I had to go another way. I found out guards were in the other hall. I felt cold air hit me. I looked up. The vent! I grabbed a chair and climbed up. I knew the castle well enough I found my room in no time. I got down from the vent and grabbed my bag with all my moon things are in. I climbed back to the vent, right as the guards came in my room. The saw no one was there and left. I got out of the vent. I decided I would have red eyes and long red hair. "Luna Pen Disguise!" I called. Then I casually walked out into the hall. I was safe for now.  
  
He didn't notice me anymore. I always noticed him. In the halls, at dinner, anywhere else. I missed him noticing me though. A little at least. He looked a little worn down though and a little lonely. After they couldn't find the maid he gave up hope. One night when I was watching him sleep he woke up. I ran for the attached bathroom. He started cursing. "Serena! Why don't you just come back? Huh?" I thought he knew who I was but he didn't. "Serena! Where are you?" He sat down on his bed and started crying. He was getting very mad at me now. Maybe our love wouldn't last forever. Maybe.  
  
One day I answered the door and a messenger from the moon was there. I was a little surprised. "A gift from the Queen of the Moon for Prince Darien." he said. I accepted the gift and thanked him. Darien wasn't there at the moment so I took it to his room. I didn't think any more about it. I figured my mother was telling him thank you for helping search for me.  
  
The next day I was cleaning his room and saw the he had opened the package. It was a mirror and I thought that was very strange. It was gorgeous though. I finished his room and left. The rest of that day was normal. I cleaned, ate, and went to bed. It was the next day I should have been worried about.  
  
I was cleaning the mirror in the hall that had been replaced by the mirror the queen gave him. I didn't look at the reflection, I just cleaned it. I looked at the inscription at the bottom. It said "Know who you are". I was kinda weirded out by that. Then I looked at the reflection. I screamed. It was me in the mirror. I mean me, me. I had blonde hair blue eyes and I was me! I COULD HAVE DIED!!! That was just like my mother send him a magic mirror. I wonder what he saw. After a second of shock I started cleaning it again. It had my fingerprints on it, so I had to. Then he walked by. He looked at me. I tried to get out of the view of the mirror, but he saw the princess in the mirror. His eyes grew wide with shock.  
  
"Grab her!" He yelled as soon as he saw me beginning to run. The generals took after me and I ran faster than I had ever run before. Down the halls and to the left then the right. I couldn't shake them. I ran into the bathroom and locked the door. It was time to give up seeing him. At least for a while. I went out the window and didn't look back.  
  
Well 3 weeks later Darien needed someone to run his schedule for him and be his secretary. I applied and got the job. I would work very close to him, but he wouldn't touch me hopefully. I made my eyes light blue almost white and light brown hair. I looked very good, it was one of my best disguises.  
  
Everything was going good, I got to laugh with him, talk with him, and almost pretend everything was normal. Then one day the greatest thing in the world happened. Or so I thought. We were alone in his room and it was just beautiful.  
  
"Usako. I wanted to tell you something." He said to me. "I-I-I like you. A lot. Actually I love you." He said this blushing. I was shocked. He didn't love me-the princess-anymore!  
  
"What about the princess?" I asked him.  
  
He sat down at this. "I don't love her anymore. If she really loved me, she would be here right now! I hate her! I hate her for torturing me and I hate her for not caring! I have left her in the past now! I love you now!" Then I realized that our love had broken. I think because he wasn't technically in love with me. I did something I hadn't done in a long, long time. I kissed him. It was long and beautiful. I loved him. And you know what I didn't die. I didn't even hurt!  
  
"Darien do you really hate the princess?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then....I guess I have some bad news." I grabbed my bag and ran to the hall mirror. He looked in the mirror at me. He saw the princess standing there. He took a step back. I got out the luna pen and changed into myself. He looked at me for a long time. I guess he didn't know what to do.  
  
"Darien you don't understand why I was gone. I mean actually I wasn't gone. That black-haired maid, the red-haired maid, and your secretary. I used the Luna pen. I couldn't touch you or we would die. You remember that old witch that cured of us of that disease? She put a curse on me. If we touched we would die. We can touch now because you fell in love with someone else. Not me."  
  
"I don't know Serena. I just don't know. Why didn't you just tell me? We could have at least talked then!"  
  
"You know we would have wanted to do more than that! You know it! I always did! I knew with you always there you would too!"  
  
"Maybe. I don't know. I don't love you anymore, not after that! I don't want to see you! Not anymore!" He yelled then he walked off.  
  
"Darien.." I whispered and broke out in tears. I ran off towards the door of the house. I ran into the generals.  
  
"Princess! What are you doing here? Does the Prince know you are here?"  
  
"Yes. I have always been here. As his maids and secretary. Just please point me towards a way to the moon!"  
  
6 months later I am on the moon and I have been in bed for the last month. I am sick with depression. I wonder how Darien is. I think about him all the time. I have lost a lot of weight, but I am sick. Mother told me we are going to the Earth. To visit but, I doubt she can get me out of bed.  
  
Okay, she got me out of bed and we are on Earth. We are about to go to the palace. I am going to be forced to see him again. I guess it won't be bad for me, but it will be for him. Here we go.  
  
"Hello Darien!" my mother says like a cue to me.  
  
"Hello." I say. He kissed my mother's hand he doesn't even bother to look at me. I ignore him too. But I still look at him with longing eyes.  
  
"It is nice to see you Serenity. I am glad you came. I wanted to tell you how much I loved that mirror you sent me. It revealed so much." He said the last line looking at me. He said it in an angry tone.  
  
"Darien. I must tell you how glad I am to be here. The Earth is so beautiful." My mother said this. She had something up her sleeve. I could tell. Then her communicator went off. "Oh I must take this." She walked off leaving us alone.  
  
"Well," I said, "How are you?"  
  
"Fine."  
  
"Good. Good."  
  
"Yeah whatever." He said. He really didn't want me there I could tell. I didn't really want to be there either, but I didn't really have a choice. Then my mother came back.  
  
"Darien, I think you two should wait for me in your bedroom. I will be there in a sec."  
  
"Sure." Why his bedroom? What was my mother up to? We went to his bedroom. After we walked in I sat on his bed. Then the doors slammed shut and I heard a key.  
  
"What?" I ran to the door and tried to open it. "Mother!" I ran to the windows they were locked too. Great. Stuck with him. He might kill me!  
  
"Great stuck with you." He said coldly.  
  
"Listen, Darien. I didn't want to leave you. Why do you think that I stayed around the castle? To torture you? Don't you think I would have told you if I could? Why do you think I have been in bed for the last month? Because I'm lazy?" The last part slipped out. I didn't want him to know that.  
  
"Well... I just... You left me alone for so long! And when I kept seeing you! The eyes in the hall when you tripped, when you came in at night and watched me, when you suddenly appeared in the mirror! I thought I was going crazy!"  
  
"Wait! You knew I was watching you at night? How did you know?"  
  
"Serena, when I woke up that once I thought I was dreaming you. That's why I yelled."  
  
"Darien. I love you."  
  
"I love you too." Then we kissed. It was great. My mother let us out of the room. The rest of the visit was great. Well, you know the rest of the story.

**Now come on! Click the link! Go to chapter two! Pwetty pwease?**


	2. Rub Away the Reflection

The evening sun painted streaks of red and blue, lines of green and gold, and splashes of pink and orange against a canvas of clouds. The stones of the Earthen castle were shining bronze while long shadows stretched from atop it's towers. A small picnic was set up on the side of a hill, beneath the cool shade of an old tree. Water cascaded from a fountain nearby, murmuring softly and drowning out the sweet whispers a couple shared while watching dusk fall gradually across the Earth.

"It's so beautiful, Darien," Serena said quietly. A gentle wind caressed her cheek as she lay next to Darien. The grass tickled at her skin, and his arm was warm around her shoulders. His thumb rubbed up and down her arm until it grew numb. She smiled softly. "Sunsets don't look like this on the Moon."

He laughed, and she could feel it spread through his body, making it tremor from deep inside his chest and then down his arms so it shook her, too. "The Moon doesn't need beautiful sunsets because it holds beautiful people."

She looked up at him, her eyes the brilliant blue of a summer sky. He loved when they glittered in happiness like they were now. Her gaze made the entire world disappear behind him, like he was falling into a dream. Sometimes he worried that one day he might finally wake up.

"Sometimes I wonder if your loyalty lies with your own planet or mine," she teased.

"I wonder the same!" cackled a voice on the wind. Shadow exploded from the ground, moving outwards in waves and bringing dust to rise. When it had all disappeared, a sorceress stood there, her black eyes fierce and determined.

The couple stood up quickly, turning about to face the witch, whom Serena recognized as Vara, a woman who'd led many protests during the Earth-Moon negotiations. Black hair streaked with silver flowed over her shoulders, and a crooked nose was guarded by wrinkles on her face. Darien's arm instinctively slid around Serena, protecting her though he didn't yet know how. Lines of anger creased the sorceress's forehead as she pointed a knotted finger at Serena.

"You love the wretched Earth more than you cherish the Moon!" she accused, her voice raspy. "You betray your own planet for him!"

"That's not true!" Serena said, pulling away from Darien.

"Isn't it?" Vara asked. "It's treason! The Earth is nothing more than Lunarians who have been cast away. I'm going to stop this treachery right now!"

A black aura surrounded the witch as she began to curse Serena, shadows flowing from her fingertips and pushing Darien back.

"An evil love in you may no longer reside,

And from your Prince you now must hide,

For until his love exists no more,

You'll live like you have not before,

You will die should he touch your skin,

And no longer shall you meet again,

Murder to him your touch shall be,

Then you'll die together in tragedy!"

Serena could not breathe as the dark magic entered her body. She held her throat, stepping backwards and loosing her footing. Panic gripped her as she began to think these were her final moments. She fell onto the grass, her vision blurring and blackening. Darien's face filled her mind and tears stung at her eyes. She gasped for air but none came. Her body began to tremor as she heard the beckon of the world beyond.

"What have you done to her?" Darien yelled, reaching for Serena. Black magic struck him in the chest, stunning him into unawareness, sprawled out on the picnic blanket.

The sorceress approached her Princess who had fallen into seizures, her eyes rolling in her head. "This is your punishment Princess. Your loving him is wrong. I am your loyal servant always, and I wish for you only to see the evil of what you are doing."

Air filled Serena's lungs as her body stilled. She coughed and her eyes watered. She looked up at the sorceress. "There is no evil in love!" she choked out.

The sorceress's eyes grew dark, storms raging through her soul. "There is in this love."

Sudden pain racked Serena's body and her skin felt as if it was burning. She screamed loudly, capturing the attention of the palace guards. They ran to the hill to see the Princess curled in agony, and their Prince unconscious.

"What have you done to them, Witch?" they yelled.

"I have shown them the truth!" she said righteously. An arrow sliced through the air, hitting it's target as it pierced her chest. She fell to the ground.

Dead.

The burning subsided and Serena collapsed, her arms falling to her sides, and tears streaming from her eyes. The night sky stared down at her, twilight having fallen. She cried, the starlight blurring into the dark. She could feel the shadows around her heart and the coldness in her skin. She gazed at Darien, stretching her fingertips out for him. Immediately the pain returned and she pulled her hand away. She remembered his thumb on her shoulder, and her skin flamed.

The curse had taken hold.

A maid with wavy auburn hair rubbed at a hallway mirror, the second one she'd cleaned that day in the Earthen castle. Green eyes stared back at her and she looked away, disgusted. She rubbed harder on the mirror, pressing so hard she could have broken it. It appeared she was trying to wipe the reflection from the mirror.

She was.

Her hair was supposed to be the silver of the stars and her eyes a clear blue, yet they were these drab earth colors. Her Lunarian heritage was erased in her magical disguise, erased in her mind, erased by a hag so long ago.

A year had passed to this very day since she'd last kissed Darien. Her skin still felt icy and her heart still darkened. She'd been alone so long; she couldn't remember what it felt like to be happy and loved. She remembered only sadness and loneliness.

The clomp of boots sounded from around the corner and she snapped to attention. She turned away from the mirror and touched her chin to her chest, studying the grain in the floor.

"As you were," Darien said, his voice the sound of her heart breaking. She picked up her rag, looking into the mirror for only a moment but catching Darien's eyes. Dark bags surrounded them for his dreams kept him up at night. A quizzical look appeared in his face and she hurried away from him, down the hallway and out of sight.

She leaned against the wall, closing her eyes to shut away the tears and praying he found no resemblance in her disguise as Sabriel and her real appearance as Princess Serenity.

"Who was that?" Darien asked in a quiet voice.

"Just a maid," Malachite answered.

She heard their footsteps continue down the hall and she slid to the floor. It hurt so much to see him here, yet she couldn't stand to be away from him.

"Get back to work, lazy wretch!" an older maid growled, spotting Serena resting.

"Yes, ma'am," she said, standing up and heading off to another mirror, another reflection, and another heartache.

Night fell, bringing an eerie stillness to the castle. The lone sound was the soft splatter of rain outside Serena's window, which stood open to allow in the breeze.

Sweat coated Serena's forehead and her legs were stuck together. She rolled over, facing her window. A break in the clouds revealed a full, bright moon. She rolled over again, unable to stand the sight of the home she had left behind. She sighed and kicked off her blanket. She was never going to sleep tonight, not with her forehead tingling with magic and the air so thick with humidity.

She stood, thankful for the cool stone beneath her bare feet. She neglected shoes and proper clothing, and left her room in only her silk nightgown. The hallways were covered in a stifling darkness that coated her as completely as the curse did. She sent out a thin wave of magic and, after sensing no one near, she pulled magic from her palm to form a silver ball of light. She relied on this orb to guide her way during her night walk about the castle.

She followed the narrow servant's hall and climbed down the servant's stair, until she met the hall that connected to the formal dining room. She moved in no certain direction; she merely followed her feet into the Main Hall and up the Grand Stair. Plush carpets swallowed the sound of her footsteps and large portraits of the Earth's royalty hung on the walls. She shivered as they stared coldly down at her, practically cursing her for breaking their Prince's heart.

"Get in line," she whispered. "Everyone else is cursing me as well."

She continued past the countless guest rooms until she came to a sharp corner. She extinguished her orb, knowing that around the corner two knights stood guard. This last piece of hall was lit well by torches anyway, to aid in the protection of the sleeping Darien.

Serena could feel his life in the gentle, steady state of sleep. If she wished she could press into his dreams and meet him there. In fact, she could control him from inside his own mind, keep him from touching her but still allow them to talk.

But she did not.

Instead she began to hum a soft lullaby, coating it with a sleep spell and sending it down the hall to the knights. Soon the sounds of their slow breathing reached her, so she turned the corner, strode to the doors, and slipped into Prince Darien's bedroom.

**AN: See? It's a lot better already, isn't it? I worked for a long time trying to make this really good. **

**I owe a HUGE thanks to my dear friend Adam's Apathy (her new pen name, watch out, it changes very often) AKA Whitney. Thanks a ton, Fluff!**

**Input is very welcome, so write me!**

**Until the next time,**

**Ai No Senshi**

**(the forgetful writer who should update more often)**


	3. Facing the Past

The Moon had been covered once more so no light penetrated the darkness of his room. She dare not form her magic orb once more, afraid of how his subconscious may recognize her. She did, however, draw fire from the ashes of the candelabras on the walls, lighting the room sufficiently enough for her to see.

She took a deep breath after spotting Darien's sleeping form beneath the blankets. She crept to his bedside, standing far enough away not to receive the burning pain in her skin. He looked so fragile there, his eyelashes falling against his cheeks and his lips parted slightly as if he might speak. That stubborn strand of hair fell across the bridge of his nose, just like it had always done before. She blinked away tears and fought the heartache that came with missing him.

She pulled a chair up and sat watching, thinking, missing him. Sometimes the pain would flare, and she would have to throw her thoughts away to avoid it. The rain began to pick up, pounding against his windows. Thunder rolled, and she shivered. Her hair stood on end, the electricity in the air causing it to rise. She gazed out the window, wondering how much more the storm might worsen.

"Serena."

She gasped and smothered the candles, throwing the room into darkness. She held her breath, waiting. No more whispers came and she let out a sigh of relief. Lightening flashed, paling Darien's face and revealing his eyes to be open.

Staring at her.

She stood, knocking back the chair. She sprinted to the door, Darien's steps just behind hers. She threw the door open and ran down the hallway, the guards still snoring behind her.

"Serena!" he yelled. She ran harder, her breath coming in short gasps. Tears stung at her eyes as his voice became more desperate.

She stopped, turning around to face him though the pain was unbearable. She threw herself into his mind, willing his feet to stop and slowing his steps to a halt. Her skin stopped burning as he lost the will to touch her.

"I am not Serena," she said, forcing him to believe it. She was so connected to him he did not even realize her presence there. She pulled away from his mind and looked at the floor.

"I'm sorry," he said, rubbing his head. "I was dreaming. I apologize if I frightened you. But what were you doing in my room?"

"I had forgotten to put more logs in your fire," she covered quickly. "I'm sorry if I caused you any distress."

"No, no, it's fine," he said. "Good night."

"Good night, Majesty," she said, bowing, then putting her back to him. She walked away from him with teardrops on her cheeks. She felt like screaming all of her frustrations into the night then falling into a sobbing wreck. The storm raged on outside the castle walls while her own storm wore her will to deceive him away. She missed her Court, she missed her life, and she wanted to go home.

Her punishment for being caught sitting in the hall the day before was to clean every meticulous piece of china in the dining room, a job she dreaded for she would be cast out of the castle if she broke a single dish. She unlocked the large cabinet and removed every piece of china from the bottom shelf. She dusted it out, then began to shine the silverware.

Minutes stretched on as she moved from piece to piece, placing them in their right spaces as she finished bringing them to their rightful shine. She nearly dropped a dish as she sensed Darien entering the hall and reporting for breakfast. She focused on the china as he and his Generals took their seats and were served.

They were silent at first, and Serena directed a dish so she could catch Darien's reflection. He looked awful, having been haunted by her the night before. The Generals could not keep silent about his appearance.

"You had another dream, didn't you?" Malachite asked, setting down his fork to stare at Darien, who nodded silently.

"It was worse this time," he said. "I thought she was sitting at my bedside watching me, and I chased her down the hall."

"You what?" his four friends said together.

"My memory of her is stalking me," he said in explanation. "And there's nothing I can do to stop it."

"Maybe," Jadeite said tentatively, "you should forget about the princess and move on. She apparently has forgotten you."

Serena was thankful Darien did not mention the maid at his bedside, but she was also angry with Jadeite. How could he suggest that she would ever forget Darien?

"She has not forgotten me!" Darien argued. "She ran because of the curse that damn hag cast upon her!"

She smiled, a rare occurrence, at how he stood up for her even in her absence.

"But is she ever going to come back to you?"

Darien was silent.

"We must be getting to a meeting, Darien," Nephrite said, he and his three companions rising to their feet.

"You go ahead. I'll meet you there." The generals exchanged glances and left without another word.

Serena cleared her throat, daring to speak to Darien without mind control for the first time in a year.

"I believe she'll come back," she said quietly while still cleaning the good dishes. Her hands shook and her heart quivered in nervousness.

"What makes you believe so?" Darien asked, slouched in his chair. His chin rested on his hand as he scrutinized her and her words. His eyes were sharp with judgment. He apparently did not recognize her from the night before, as she preferred it.

"I know of love and I know of the Princess, and I do not think she could ever forget you."

"If only you knew everything," he said, standing to leave. "Sometimes I wonder if she has left me for good."

"Oh, no!" she insisted. "You mustn't believe so!"

He met her eyes, his deep gaze striking a chord of sadness within her. "I mustn't believe it," he said, "but I do."

He exited, leaving her to the innumerable amounts of china pieces and the memory of his hopeless speech.

The next morning Serena awoke to a familiar voice inside her head.

"Serena!" her mother sent to her mind. Serena shot up in bed, holding her temples in her palms.

She panicked, pulling all of her magic into a tight ball and tucking it away. Her green eyes and dark hair melted away to reveal her true self. She began throwing up all defenses in her mind, protecting herself in record time.

She acted as if she never noticed her mother's voice until she was secure from all intrusions. Queen Selenity must be in the castle to sense her daughter's presence. Serena had so many magical defenses it was impossible for even the most sensitive mage to feel her unless they were very near, and even then they had to be purposely trying to find her.

Serena got out of bed and locked her door. She would not leave her room today, or any day that Queen Selenity was visiting. She turned slowly and caught sight of herself in the bathroom mirror.

"Oh, God," she whispered, walking forward to touch the reflection. Her blue eyes and her silver hair were back, bringing with them a thousand memories. She sobbed into her hands, touching the crescent moon on her forehead. This is who she had been before that horrible day.

A hard knock rapped at the door.

"What's going on in there?"

"I am ill!" she said, truly believing it as her stomach took a dive. "I cannot work today unless you want vomit all over the drapes!"

There was grumbling, but the older maid went on to the next door, pouring Serena's chores on someone else.

Serena started a bath, and took the mirror from the wall, putting it in her closet with the reflective side facing away from her. She stopped the running water and slipped in, laying her head against the rim. As much as she missed her silver hair, the grief it brought made her regret ever wanting to be herself again. But her magic was useless with her mother around, and she could keep her disguise on no longer.

Nor could she fight off the memories anymore.

_The knights carried Darien up to his room, while she ran ahead, her mind lost in chaos. She didn't know how much time she had before Darien awoke from his slumber, but she did not plan to be around when he did. She escaped to her room, locking the door behind her. The curse was fresh on her skin, the cold causing her to tremble every few seconds._

_She changed into the simplest dress she had on the Earth, an old tan straight-cut thing that would blend perfectly into her new life. She sought out a pen and paper, and began scripting her explanation._

**Darien,**

** I am sorry to be writing this, and I am sorry that I am leaving you. But it simply must be done for my sake and your own. You do understand, don't you?**

** I hope that one day you will find something better. Someone better.**

** Remember me.**

**Serena**

_Her doorknob shook as someone twisted it, then her door jolted as a fist met it._

_"Serena!" Darien yelled. "Please, Serena!"_

_She walked to the door, placing her hand against it. "I will always love you," she whispered._

_Then the door busted open and Darien stepped into an empty room._

_She spent her first night in a mountain temple on the Moon, sheltered by the priests who had sworn to hide her. She sat in a prayer room, kneeling on the wooden floor and facing in towards a cackling fire. She placed her hands together and leant forward, praying to the goddess, her own relation, for protection and guidance. _

_At the end of her prayer, an elder priest, Ryule, sat beside her, crossing his legs beneath him. She copied his form and placed open palms on her knees._

"_Help me hide from their magic," she said. He nodded._

_"You must learn to pull your magic into the smallest amount possible and fold it deep within you. Meditate," he instructed, "and tug your magic deep within." He did as he had just said and she could no longer sense his magic at all._

_She closed her eyes, regulating her breath. In, out. In, out._

_Soon the outer world melted away from her, and she could see her magic, silver and spread out. She did not lack control on her magic, it merely was so great it was often easier to let it flow through her in currents rather than only calling it when needed. She began gripping it, folding it smaller and smaller until she saw a ball that would fit in her palm. Her brow wrinkled as she began shrinking her magic until it was no bigger than a distant star in the night sky._

_She opened her eyes to find the priest smiling._

_"Good," he said. "Now do it quicker."_

_She spent the entire night restraining her magic and releasing it until she could hide her powers in an instant. She did not need to learn any other defense, for her mother had shown her so much already._

_The sun glimmered golden on the horizon when she stepped from the temple. She bowed to the priests. "Thank you for helping me so."_

_Ryule smiled. "Our doors are always open for you."_

_Serena waved good-bye and stepped into the morning fog, disappearing into the air like a fading rainbow._

_She spent her next day on Earth, hidden away in a secret cove by the sea. She knew Darien had left for the Moon,, no doubt scouring it over with her mother and her Court. She took the time to regain her energy, and form a plan._

_The next day she had applied for and received the job of a maid in the Earthen castle. She adopted her wavy red hair and tilted green eyes. She dusted a thousand shelves, mopped a dozen floors, and started her new life as Sabriel, lowly maid and quiet woman._

Queen Selenity could not rid herself of the butterflies in her stomach. She knew the magic she had felt was Serena's, it flowed in the same smooth, peaceful currents, and had disappeared too quickly to be anyone else. Serena resided within Darien's own castle, the one place they'd failed to search.

Selenity got through her first meeting with the Earth's council relatively well, only falling into thought twice and having to ask them to repeat their questions. But when they took a break for the midday meal, she took Darien aside. He looked pitiful, the poor thing, and he could barely glance at her without being reminded of his lost love.

"Darien have you had any strange occurrences in the castle lately?" she asked, prying for the information that could verify her suspicions.

"No, nothing out of the ordinary," he answered.

"You haven't had any dreams or felt anything odd?"

He looked up, remembering something. "Yes," he said very quietly. "A maid was in my room two nights ago, watching me sleep. I mistook her for Serena and chased her down the hall."

"And then?"

"Then she stopped, told me she was not Serena, and I apologized. She looked nothing like Serena, anyway."

He was unnerved by the glimmer in the Queen's eye.

"I know where she is," Queen Selenity said. She didn't realize at the time that she might chase her daughter away, she thought only of gaining her back. She thought only of Serena's laugh, only of the conversations they had, and all the things she missed. She never realized she could hurt her daughter by showing Darien where she was.

Darien's heart pounded so hard he could hear it in his ears. "Where?"

"She's here!"

Serena sat on her bed, hugging her knees to her chest. She gazed out her window, watching clouds roll over the blue sky. She'd made peace with her memories now, and only waited for her mother to leave so she could take up her life and disguise once more.

A quick rap on her door made her jump. Without her magic she had not sensed anyone coming.

"Sabriel? Can I come in, dear? I brought you some soup."

"No," she said meekly, though her stomach yearned for food. "I am very sick and I don't want you to become sick, too."

A key jangled in her lock, causing Serena to spring to her feet. The door flew open just as she reached the window ledge.

"Serena!"

She could not breathe as she saw her mother and Darien step into her room. She released her magic from it's hold and it flowed through her once more. Pain burnt in her skin and showed in her eyes, and she knew Darien was thinking of reaching out for her.

"Do not come near me, Darien," she commanded, and he was frozen in place. Serena found she could not move either.

Her mother was glowing silver, using her magic to hold Serena where she stood. "I'm not letting you leave, Serena," she said.

"Don't make me do this, Mother," Serena warned, her magic making her glow brighter than her mother's.

"I'm afraid you'll have to."

Serena took a deep breath, wishing she never had to use her magic against the Queen. But she did, drawing flares of power to throw against her mother's defenses. It broke through, striking hard, and causing Selenity to faint.

Serena, becoming free, stepped onto the window sill, readying herself to jump.

"Don't leave me," Darien said forlornly. "Not again."

"I have to, Darien," she whispered. "Please understand."

"I can't Serena! I can't understand why you are doing this to me!"

"So you can live," she said. "We would never just talk Darien. At some point I'd reach out to hold your hand, or clear that strand of hair from your face. I can't chance killing you."

"We could try," he pleaded.

She shook her head. "I take back my words. Forget about me Darien. Leave me in the past." She looked back at the blue sky with all it's promises, hoping one day it would keep them. "Find a new love."

She released Darien from his constraints and jumped from the window. He ran to it, and watched as she fell, turning into a silver mist that melted away into thin air.

Gone again.

Her world shifted beneath her and instead of falling into the brush beneath her window, she fell onto the sand inside her cove. The ocean flooded in around her feet, kissing her ankles and trying to comfort her. She leaned back against the inside of the cove, her forehead braced against the heel of her hand. The sound of the waves numbed her, and she promised herself she wouldn't cry.

"How could you be so careless?" she asked herself aloud. Living in the same shelter as Darien? How could she have even dreamed that she wouldn't be found out? The only way she could ever touch Darien again was for him to stop loving her, and if she was always there, reminding him of what they had, then he'd never forget her, never even try to move on.

She'd wasted an entire year on her own selfishness.

She could never go back to the castle now. She needed someplace new to hide.

Or maybe she needed an old place.

Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long. And just to make something clear, the first chapter is a separate story, the old version of this story. It should not be read connected to the second chapter because the second chapter starts a new story, which this chapter continues, okay? I know the first chapter sucks, I just left it there so you could compare it to the remake, which starts with the second chapter. All clear?

Until the next time,

Ai No Senshi


	4. Wish for the Future

Selenity returned to the Moon, more tired than she had ever been in her life. She felt so guilty for chasing Serena away, and greatly saddened by seeing the once vivacious couple so anguished. She had acted on impulse, hoping that if she could only be in the same room as Serena she could get her to come home.

She walked down the old hallways of her home, the walls covered in shadows and her spirit low. She turned past tapestries she'd seen so many times, and familiar faces of ancestors long gone. She stopped in front of a portrait of Serena and herself. Serena wore a mischievous smile on her face, her blue eyes glittering. Selenity missed that smile, those eyes. She headed for the dining room, arriving in time for the evening meal. She fell into her seat with no grace or control.

"Is something wrong?" Mina asked, leaning forward in her chair. The rest of Serena's court did the same, concerned about the Queen's wellbeing. They never would have dreamed that the Queen would say what she did.

"I saw Serena."

"What?" they asked together, their forks clattering against their dishes.

"All this time she's been in disguise, working as a maid in Darien's own castle." She shook her head. "Can you believe it?"

"Why didn't she just come home?" Lita asked. "We could have kept her from Darien!"

"I don't think we could have, Lita," Amy said quietly. "He would have found a way to her, or she to him. You know how they used to sneak out at night."

Raye was strangely silent. She kept her gaze on her plate, pushing her food around but she had lost the appetite to eat it. "I just wish she would come home."

They all slouched into their seats and grew quiet, agreeing with her with their frowning faces. They did not have near as much fun without Serena, nor did they serve any purpose for she wasn't there to protect.

"You remember the first time she met Darien?" Mina asked, her eyes growing starry. "It was a match made in heaven. She couldn't stop talking about him!"

"Oh, yes!" Raye laughed. "And the klutz tripped over a chair while following him, or trying to at least."

They smiled warmly at each other.

"One night, after their first dance together, she came into my room, swooning over him," Mina said. "She told me, 'He is the most wonderful person I've ever met. I think I might love him.'"

"She always had impulse feelings," Selenity agreed.

"Like the time she wanted that dog even though she was allergic to it!"

Dinner grew cold that night as the five women reminisced and told stories of Serena. They laughed and cried, and didn't leave their chairs until late that night, when they could scarcely keep awake anymore.

"It's good to see you again, Princess," Ryule said, bowing at the waist.

She returned the gesture, thankful she had thought of her former hiding place. "I only hope your offer still stands."

He smiled, wrinkles bunching up on his forehead. "Of course." She followed him inside through silent halls to a corner room. Two large windows looked out onto a mountainside garden with crooked trees and a humble stone path. A small cot sat in the corner with simple white blankets and sheets. There was a small fire at the bedside, and a table in the opposing corner. A bathroom connected at the right, next to her closet. She loved the quaintness of it all.

"We serve meals at six, twelve, and six," he said. "There are prayers all throughout the day, but you know to remain quiet."

She nodded. This is what she needed, a quiet place where she could forget everything and simply live from day to day, each like the rest and filled with total peace.

"I can never repay you for taking me in," she said.

"You'll never have to."

Ryule left her and she sank down onto the cot, gazing out the window. The shadows around her heart seemed to fade, content to know she wasn't chasing after Darien anymore. And she felt warmth, hope.

This could be her life.

Dinner was served on a long, wooden table, low to the ground so they sat on pillows while eating. Boiled vegetables and fish were on the menu that night, and though it wasn't much, she felt full. Meals were the only time when anyone really talked to one another, a sweet release from the silence.

"Are you comfortable, Princess?" they asked her.

She nodded. "Call me Serenity."

They smiled.

After dinner she went out to the gardens, following the stone path as it looped around and around, beneath long vines and knotted trees. Flowers sprouted around the path in gentle purples and bright reds. Soothing scents filled her nose, and sprigs of mint refreshed her. The starlight was clearer here, sparkling like a million diamonds.

She came around a bend and stumbled across a fountain, splashing quietly into a deep pool. In the center sat a statue of the Moon Goddess, the resemblance to Serena unsettling. It reflected back the light of the stars, and seemed to resonate magic. She walked around it, reading an inscription in the stones around its base.

**Ask with a pure heart,**

**And your wish granted will be,**

**But ask with malice in your soul,**

**And a dark fate shall befall thee.**

Serena closed her eyes, thinking of what she really wanted.

"I wish," she said, "that Darien would be happy."

The wind picked up, twisting around her and sending strands of her hair across her face. She opened her eyes slowly to see the fountain glowing golden. It began resounding like cathedral bells, sending waves across her vision. It grew louder and louder until she grew dizzy, swaying on her feet. It filled her ears, and overloaded her senses, until she fell into the sweet silence of unconsciousness.

At that very moment, in a ballroom filled to the brim with royalty, a young lady dropped her purse, and unknowingly walked on. Darien, who wished not to be there at all, but was required to be since he was hosting the ball, spotted the purse, and picked it up.

"Excuse me, Miss," he called, but the lady did not hear. He chased after her, pushing through the crowded ballroom, until he could tap her on the shoulder. She turned, surprised to see the Prince following her.

"You dropped your purse," he explained, handing her the small beaded bag. She smiled, revealing a beautiful set of pearly white teeth in bright contrast of her tan skin. Her jade eyes glittered with a contagious happiness. He smiled in return, for the first time in a long time. "I'm sorry, I'm being rude. I am Darien."

"Prince Darien of the Earth," she corrected him in a teasing way. She curtsied. "And I am Princess Kaelin of the Calypso system."

"Ah," he said. "I've been to the Calypso system. It's very warm there."

**"**Our sun is twice the size of yours," she pointed out.

"That could be the reason." They laughed, and Darien felt alive for the first time since the curse. "Would you be so kind as to dance with me?" he asked, opening his hand to her.

She slipped her dainty, gloved hand in his. "I would love to."

Many months passed and Serenity had fallen into her life as a priestess. She wore simple white dresses, and reported for meals on time. She took nightly walks in the garden, now steering clear of the wishing fountain though she wasn't even sure if she would ever be able to find it again. She spent her days meditating, and exercising her magic. In this remote place she let her magic flow freely, causing her to become luminous at all times. She was happy and at peace in a place where she did not have to remember or worry about anything.

One night as she took her walk, a young priest joined her, his face more jovial than any other priest she'd seen. Round brown eyes glimmered up at her.

"Good evening, Serenity," he said quietly, bowing at the waist.

"Good evening," she said, greeting him in the same way. "I'm afraid I do not know your name."

"I am Asher," he answered. "I hope you do not mind if I join you on your walk tonight; you do seem very alone."

"I do not mind either way," she answered. "I only walk to breathe in the air, and stretch my legs."

For awhile they walked in silence, enjoying the company though they said no words.

"Did you always glow before?" Asher asked.

Serena laughed and it felt good to feel the familiar tremble in her stomach. "No, not always. It disturbed some people, so I kept my magic more tightly bound."

"And now?"

"Now I can let everything flow freely; it takes less energy."

"What can you do?"

Serena looked at him, her eyes glittering in excitement. "Many things. Do you wish to see some?"

Asher had never seen magic before; his family possessed none in their line, and after leaving his family he had come straight to the temple where no one had much, and rarely used what little they had. He nodded his head vigorously, and Serena directed him to stand to the side.

She rubbed her hands together, silver sparks collecting there and as she drew her hands apart they formed a small sun. It grew and grew, to the size of a child's kickball, and then she threw it up so that it floated feet above their heads. It was bright, drowning out the darkness of the night sky.

"Amazing," Asher said.

Serena grinned. "I'm not done yet."

She held out held out her right hand and drew water from the small pond yards away. It formed tight ribbons of water that she sent to circle around the sun with a flick of her wrist. Rainbows danced across the air, swirling into the sky and splattering across the ground. Colors danced across their faces and their white clothes as the ribbon spun and twisted.

Asher clapped for her as the water flew back to the pond. Serena sent the sun flying into the sky, where it exploded brightly; throwing harmless sparks across the sky like fireworks. She turned and bowed, happy to give someone something they could enjoy.

"That is brilliant," Asher said, truly meaning it. "You must be related to the goddess."

"That I am," Serena said. "She is my own grandmother, on my mother's side of course."

"You must be very blessed."

Serena turned away at that comment, her face directed towards the sky at a small sapphire, giving light back to her world. "That I am not."

There was an awkward silence as Asher realized his mistake. He took Serena's hand in his. "Forgive me, I did not mean to sadden you."

Serena smiled. "Of course you didn't, but some things cannot be avoided. Come now, it's not your fault. Do you wish to see some other magic?"

"Always!"

Serena perked up and began molding the elements to her will once more. Her walks with Asher soon became routine as well, and when she was not praying or meditating, she was coming up with new ways to astonish him with magic. She enjoyed his youthful exuberance; the same she used to have. She loved his innocence, and when she was with him he made her forget all the bad things, for he did not know such things even existed in the world.

But still, late at night when the temple was silent with sleep, she would be awake looking out her window at the Earth. She would make her usual wishes, and guess what Darien was doing at that very moment.

She never did guess correctly.

Darien was utterly happy. He dreamt no more of Serena and the sorceress. He spent his days with Kaelin at the park or horseback riding. They dined in the evenings and danced the nights away. He kissed her for the first time underneath a full moon, and felt no regret. His life was continuing well, guided by Serena's wish.

On this particular night he was pacing in the Main Hall, waiting for Kaelin to arrive. They were going to picnic underneath the stars and he was going to tell her something he had not said in a long time.

The doors opened and she stepped in, capturing his attention immediately. He bowed, kissing the top of her hand in greeting, then straightening and kissing her on the cheek.

"I missed you," she said, slipping her hand into his. She'd been gone for a week, having to take care of some business in her own system, and everyone had noticed the couple's restlessness and gloom.

"I missed you, too," he said, leading her out into the courtyard. They sat down on a soft blanket, and Darien took wine from a basket, pouring a glass for each of them. An old tree bent over them, hiding away a full, watching Moon.

"You have never taken me here before," Kaelin said. "It's beautiful."

"I have something I wanted to tell you," Darien said, brushing past Kaelin's comments.

She smiled. "What is it?"

_"I love you, Kaelin."_

Serena was walking down the paths, the shade from the trees protecting her from the sun's rays. She hummed a soft tune beneath her breath, when suddenly the pain of the curse burnt her skin once more. She fell onto the stone, curling into a ball. She screamed, disrupting all prayers and drawing the priests out into the gardens. They circled around her, watching as black flowed out of her skin and slithered away into the bushes. She stopped screaming as the pain subsided, and breathed heavily. She pushed herself onto her feet, eyeing the smiling priests around her.

"Study yourself well, Serenity," Ryule said mysteriously. Asher grinned at his side.

Serena dove into her currents of magic, scrutinizing herself and feeling as if something was missing inside her, something important. It took her a moment to realize her skin felt warm and her heart free. She searched and searched but found no traces of the curse.

She laughed, dancing around, feeling as free as she had ever been. Her magic sparked around her like fireworks erupting about her head. The monks remained silent, watching, waiting for her to grasp exactly what this meant.

She halted, staring at the Earth which was fading into the daylight sky. She felt her heart collapse around her feet. If she was no longer cursed, then Darien was no longer in love with her. She swore at the hag who cursed her, becoming so angry that flames darted from her fingertips. She was forced to pull in her magic and emotions.

"It's what I wished for," she said very quietly, trying to calm herself down. "I wanted him to be happy, and he is."

"And you, Serenity?"

She sighed, and blinked away tears. She faced Asher, apologizing with her eyes. "I…"

"I am going home."


	5. Returning Home

Queen Selenity was sitting on her balcony, gazing out over the Sea of Serenity and waiting for the next day to come. Without Serena in the castle, the whole place seemed drab and lifeless. Everyday was as boring as the one before and everything become monotonous. She knew of her daughter's pain, and she knew of Darien's new girlfriend. She could not help but become angry at him for moving on while she knew her daughter was someplace still longing for him.

She was startled when two arms snaked themselves around her neck in a gentle hug.

"I'm home, Mother."

Selenity turned around to see her daughter, smiling softly down at her. The Queen stood and hugged her, crying happy tears into her hair.

"Oh, Serena, I've missed you so much!"

Serena began crying as well. "I missed you, too. And the Moon. And my friends."

Her mother stood back, grinning. "Your friends! We've got to get them!"

"But aren't they sleeping?"

Selenity gave her a look of disbelief. "You don't think they'd want to be woken up for this?" She grabbed hold of her daughter's hand, dragging her out of the room and down the hall. She threw open all four doors to the Court's bedrooms, and turned on all their lights.

"What is it?" Lita asked, stumbling into the hallway. She caught sight of Serena and her eyes widened. "Serena?"

"What?" Raye gasped, running from her room. Amy and Mina came from their rooms, each of the Court wearing the same wide-eyed look of disbelief.

Serena smiled. "I'm home!"

They grinned and circled around her in a group hug, a tangle of arms and dresses.

"Never, ever leave again!" Raye said. "Or I'll toast your scrawny butt!" The others made threats in agreement. Their cheeks hurt yet they couldn't stop grinning.

"I'll let you girls catch up," Selenity said, knowing when to make a graceful exit.

"But, Mother-"

"I'll talk to you tomorrow," she said, the look in her eyes showing that there was no room for argument. "Good night!"

"Night!" they yelled, then headed for Serena's old room. They laid across her bed and floor, taking up their old places of choice.

"Why did you decide to come home?" Amy asked, sitting cross legged on a pillow near the window.

Serena looked down and picked at a frayed thread in her comforter. "I came home because the curse has been broken."

"What? That's fantastic!" Mina said, and the rest smiled along with her. Their grins faded as they realized Serena wasn't sharing in their happiness.

"Why aren't you smiling?" Raye asked from beside her friend. She, Mina, and Serena always sat on the bed.

"In order for the curse to be broken," Serena explained, "Darien must not love me anymore."

Her friends did not speak. Raye and Mina slipped their arms around Serena's waist, hugging her in comfort.

"Who is she?" Serena asked.

"Princess Kaelin of Calypso," Amy answered, unable to look up at Serena.

"How long has he known her?"

"Eleven months," Mina said, turning her eyes away also.

"Is she nice?"

"I guess so," Raye said. "But she's nothing compared to you! In heart, in magic, in anything!"

"Aren't you angry?" Lita asked from her chair. "He betrayed you!"

"No, I'm not angry at him. In fact, I wished for him to be happy, and he is."

"But he's not with you," Mina stated somberly.

Serena smiled sadly. "I know." The room was soundless.

"Let's talk about something else!" Raye said, throwing her hands up in a comical gesture. "Where have you been the past two years?"

Serena laughed, raising her eyebrows mischievously. "Wouldn't you like to know!"

They giggled, moving on to brighter things. They never realized how much they needed each other until Serena left, and now they could not leave one another's side for anything. They chatted the night away, until falling asleep across Serena's bed as the sun cracked the sky with golden streaks.

The next day the entire Universe was talking, everyone sharing each bit of gossip until it seemed everyone knew the two newest stories from the Earth and its satellite.

The biggest story was the return of Princess Serenity to her throne. It seemed she was more powerful than before and more mature. In the two years she'd been gone, she had changed so much, and everyone could see it in her eyes.

The second story was Prince Darien's proposal of marriage to Princess Kaelin.

And her acceptance.

"Can you believe it?" Mina asked, shaking her head. Lita's face was tinged red in anger, while Amy stared at her plate and Raye studied Serena's face. Serena did not look up from her plate, shoving around strips of bacon and swirling the syrup into a sticky mess.

"He's only known her for eleven months!" Lita growled. "He knew you for years and did he propose? No!"

"Yes, that is quite strange," Amy said, looking up.

"I'm sure he was afraid," Serena said. "Afraid someone would come along, and curse her as well. Wouldn't you be?"

"Maybe," Raye said. "But if you were not angry before, Serena, shouldn't you be now? He is getting married!"

Serena tried to let that sink in. Being in love was one thing; you could fall out of love. Being married was another, for once he made that promise nothing would ever cause him to break it.

"No," she answered carefully, quietly. "I'm too shocked to be anything."

"Well," Lita said, "what are you going to do about this?"

Serena was surprised. "Why, nothing, of course."

"Nothing?" her friends chorused together.

"You can't just sit by and watch this happen," Raye said while Amy's head bobbed in agreement.

"You still love him!" Mina exclaimed. "Don't deny it, I can see it in your face and in your eyes every time you think of him. You've got to fight for this, Serena! Make him come back to you!"

"Don't you guys get it?" Serena yelled. "He doesn't love me anymore!"

"Then make him!"

The next day an invitation to the engagement party arrived. Serena's heart sunk as she read the words, finally verifying what she had hoped to be only rumors. Mina's arm slid around her shoulders.

"It's the perfect time for fighting," she said.

Serena set her jaw and nodded. "I can't let him get married."

Mina squealed in happiness. "That's my girl!

And so Serena began her plotting.

Darien was not nervous as he dressed for the engagement party, in fact, he couldn't wait to tell everyone. Of course people knew already, for someone in the press always caught hold of the latest stories. But this would be he and Kaelin's wonderful night of sharing the news. People would clap and women would sigh and say, "What a lovely couple."

He smiled at his reflection as he finished buttoning his shirt. He would be a King, and Kaelin would be his Queen. He could think of nothing better.

Behind him the windows crashed open, banging against the walls. He started, then turned around to see the wind blowing the curtains out like ghosts. How strange, he thought, as he went to shut the windows and latch them. He looked down over the tree tops and saw none of them moving in the wind. He shook his head at how paranoid he was being, and locked his windows shut. He turned back around.

And there she was.

Serena sat on his bed, her legs crossed and her head tilted to the side. He was locked in place as she rose to her feet, though she used no magic to hold him. Her sky blue eyes pulled him in as she drew closer, and he could scarcely breathe. His eyes grew wide as she raised her hand, bringing it nearer and nearer his cheek. His mind screamed with the knowledge he would die if she touched him.

But when her hand cupped his face, he felt no pain. Her skin was soft and her touch gentle. She smiled at him, daring him to touch her as well. He reached out and stroked her cheek.

"Serena," he said quietly.

Serena could stand it no longer; her heart was leaping inside her chest. She had missed him so much, missed his gentle ways. She pushed up onto her tiptoes, and lifted her chin while tipping his down. She kissed him fast, pulling back to see his reaction.

His eyes showed his disbelief and something else.

Desire.

She grinned, wrapping her arms around him and stretching taller to kiss him again.

"No!" he said, pulling out of her arms and walking to the other side of the room. "I am _engaged_, Serena!"

"But not to the right person!" she said angrily, her eyes narrowing.

"That's not for you to decide!"

"You know it, Darien," she said. "You know we should be married at this very moment."

"And we would have been!" Darien yelled, slipping in his words.

She let her head fall to the side. "What?"

He sighed, rubbing his head. He opened his bedside table drawer and drew out a small box. He tossed it on the bed, motioning for her to look. She opened the box suspiciously, gasping. A silver ring glittered back at her, a diamond crescent moon wrapping around a sapphire.

"The Earth and the Moon," she whispered.

"I was going to propose to you that night," he said quietly. "I loved you then."

She closed the box, and set it down on his pillow while sinking onto the bed. "And you don't now."

"I…" Darien searched for words to make the statement less harsh, make her stop frowning like he was. He remembered what she looked like when she was happy. He loved her smile like he loved the sun.

"I know you don't love me anymore, Darien. The curse wouldn't be broken if you still loved me."

"We had great times together Serena, and I loved you very much. But when you left, I only felt like half a person living half a life. I couldn't stop dreaming about you, or wishing for you. But then I met Kaelin, and I became whole again."

She stood up in a rage. "Save it, Darien!" she said, pointing at him. "I do not want a break up speech! You owe me more than that!"

"I owe you nothing!" he spat.

"You're wrong!" she said. "You owe me your life! You owe me two years of happiness!"

"_You_ owe _me_ those years!"

"No, I gave them to you!" she fumed. "I prayed for your happiness everyday! I wished for it to be true! You never would have met Kaelin if it wasn't for my wish."

"Wishes don't come true like that," he said coldly, unwilling to believe what she was saying.

"They do in my family," she pointed out. She headed for the door, her hand on the knob. "You owe me so much more than you can ever give by claiming you love her more than you loved me."

"_Loved_ is the main word," he said.

"You didn't keep my ring to give to someone else," she stated, the truth in every word. She opened the door and left. The click of it shutting doomed him to a silence filled with doubts and questions.

He looked down at little box on his pillow.

Why did he keep a ring if he never intended to use it?

"So what happened?" Mina asked excitedly as Serena joined their table in the ballroom. Serena ordered some champagne, and when the slender glass came she downed it quickly.

"Nothing good," Raye said quietly. They all scooted in closer, their eyes practically drilling holes into Serena's head.

"We fought," she said simply, running the tip of her finger around the edge of the champagne glass, one she had washed once before. In fact all the dishes and silverware on their table she had shined once, that morning after Darien chased her down the hall.

"Who had the last word?" Lita questioned, pulling Serena from her memories.

"I did."

"Lita!' Mina scolded. "Why does that matter at all?"

"She had the last word which means she left him with thoughts he couldn't say out loud which are now echoing through his head. He's going to keep thinking about her now."

"Ohhh," they said, realizing she was right. Darien would be obsessed with Serena all night because of words he never said.

"It doesn't matter," Serena said. "He loves her. He turned me away. He _will_ marry her, if only to believe he'll stay happy that way." She left to get another glass of champagne, and talk with people who hadn't seen her in so long. She'd tell her story a million times because that's how many times someone would ask.

"He won't marry Kaelin if we have anything to do with it," Mina said, her brow bent in a determined glare.

"What's the plan?"

"Let me handle tonight," Mina said. "He'll be planting his own doubts and I'll help him along. Tomorrow is when we all step in. Tomorrow we'll make sure he never looks at Kaelin without wishing she was Serena."

The table of four smirked, deviltry in their eyes. They were back to their old schemes, and none of them could be happier.


	6. Making Things Right

Darien met Kaelin in the hall, telling himself to be calm and act like nothing had changed. After all, Serena's visit did not make him love Kaelin less.

But it did cause him to become nervous.

Kaelin kissed him on the cheek, her green eyes sparkling in excitement. "Oh, this will be just wonderful Darien!" she said. She saw his face and became concerned. "What is wrong, honey?"

"Nothing," he said, smiling to replace the doubts in his eyes. "Everything is fine."

She took his hand and shot him another look. "Are you sure? Your hands are absolutely soaked in sweat!"

"I'm fine! Just a little jittery is all."

"Well don't be!" she said. "Tonight is the first step towards our life as a married couple!"

They entered the ballroom together by formal announcement, getting light applause from everyone. Darien's eyes landed on someone not clapping, connecting with a gaze of azure sky. He looked away from Serena's hurt face and put on a false grin.

Just be calm, he told himself.

Kaelin was soon swept away in a group of women, each craning their necks to see the large diamond on her finger. Her ring was gold and circle cut, nothing fantastic about it. Not like Serena's ring. Her ring was a symbol of the joining of two kingdoms, two lives, two dreams.

Kaelin's was just a stone.

He sat down, trying to sit up straight and look absolutely livid about the everything even though inside he could not be more confused. His generals sat around him, each silent. They did not know Serena had talked to him, but they knew she was attending the party and that was enough to silence them about their friend's state.

Suddenly Mina appeared in front of them, her smile misleading. She looked down at Darien with only kindness in her eyes, but as she leaned closer the kindness morphed into a laughing malice.

"You can't stop thinking about her, can you?" she said so quietly the generals were forced to lean in to hear. "How beautiful she is, how she moves, how when she laughs her entire body shakes. You can't forget how when you touch her you can feel the magic through her skin, how when you kiss her the magic swallows you, too. You know that when she's angry she glows silver and when she's sad the world dims. You know that Kaelin will never know you like Serena does because you could never tell Kaelin the thoughts that you are thinking right now."

"You're wrong," Darien said.

Mina stood up, grinning wildly. "If I'm wrong, tell me Serena is not beautiful. Tell me you can't stand it when she laughs. Better yet, go tell Kaelin that Serena was in your bedroom this afternoon."

He did not move or talk.

She laughed. "I'm right." She disappeared back into the crowd and Darien leaned back in his chair.

"Serena was where?" Malachite asked, praying to hear his friend tell him Mina was lying.

"She came into my room."

"Damn it, Darien!" Malachite said. "You can't seriously be thinking all those things, doubting your love for Kaelin!"

"I do not doubt my love for her," he said. "I will always love Kaelin."

"But you'll always remember Serena," Zoicite said. "Always regret turning her away when you had the chance to get her back."

"What are you going to do?" Nephrite asked.

Darien shook his head. "I'm going to announce my engagement to Kaelin tonight."

"And after that?"

"I don't know."

"Darien!" Kaelin's voice came as she fought her way out of the mob of women. She yanked at his arm. "Dance with me?"

He smiled. "Of course."

He stood and took her hand, half-heartedly stepping into the waltz. He tried to keep his eyes on Kaelin's happy face, with her small, pointed nose and large, round eyes. But he kept catching sight of silver as he spun, seeing Serena's hurt face no matter where he looked.

"Something is wrong," Kaelin said, drawing his attention back to her.

"No," Darien said, stopping the dance. "I just feel a little sick. Maybe I should sit down."

He started back for his chair, stopping as he saw the real Serena standing there. He met her eyes, finding them to be detached and emotionless. He walked past her, causing Serena's eyes to meet the cheerful green ones of Kaelin.

Ice spilled down Kaelin's back, shivers brought by the gaze of a woman she'd only heard about.

"Serenity," she said, nodding her head slightly.

Serena made no move, just stared into those emerald eyes. Kaelin shivered again. Serena's eyes held no anger, no jealousy, only a simple message.

_He'll never love you like he loved me._

Dinner was served, though neither Serena nor Darien could eat. Kaelin ate at his side, remaining very quiet. Something was happening, she knew, but she didn't yet know what exactly was going on.

Darien wished dinner would never end, for after it he would have to stand up and announce his engagement to someone he could never see the same. He could barely look at Kaelin as she squeezed his hand, a sign for him to stand and talk.

He took a deep breath and stood. He made his champagne glass ring, signaling for quiet. Then everyone's eyes fell on him.

He cleared his throat and smiled. "As you all know tonight is a very special night." His eyes scanned over the room, and they fell on a table of six. Four angry glares pierced him, while a Queen looked away, and tears dared to spill from beneath the lashes of a Princess. "I would like to announce with great happiness my engagement to Princess Kaelin Calypso."

There was enthusiastic clapping from everyone on Kaelin's guest list, while those from Darien's own solar system clapped only politely and were unable to meet his eyes. He could see the disappointment in their faces, the frowns that said, "You spoke the wrong name."

People began to stand as Kaelin hooked her arm through his. A flash of silver caught Darien's eye and he watched as Serena rose and snaked her way through the tables to the door. The rest of her table stood. Mina and Raye were ready to follow her, but they were held back by Queen Selenity. They turned to glare at him once more, their auras sparking around them.

He gazed down at Kaelin and smiled. He kissed her and there were sighs. Now people turned back to their tables and he pulled his arm from Kaelin's.

"I'll be right back." He kissed her on the cheek for good measure, then exited the back way. He walked quickly down the empty hallway before breaking into a run. He met the hallway outside the main entrance to the ballroom, and turned towards the courtyard exit. He burst out into the night, praying that Serena came this way.

A fountain murmured softly and he passed it by. An old tree bent over a west facing hill, and below it sat a silver haired girl, one he'd loved for so long and so much. One he knew like he knew himself and the one he wished to grow old with once.

This was the spot he was going to propose to her at, the one she was cursed at, the one he proposed to Kaelin at. He stopped a few feet away from Serena, and she would not face him.

"Shouldn't you be inside celebrating?" she said without anger or spite in her voice. It was a sad, simple question.

Darien glanced back at the lighted windows of the castle. "Yes."

"Then why are you out here?"

He reached into his pocket, gripping a small box in his hand. He looked at her, the tears shining brightly in her eyes though shadows seemed to cover everything else.

"I saw you leave."

"And you followed? What for?"

He released the box and drew his hand from his pocket. "I don't know."

Serena stood. "If you came out here to apologize, don't bother."

"I didn't come to apologize."

She walked past him, and stood at the edge of the fountain. She reached out and the water hit her hand, then flowed around it. "You came to tell me something you haven't told me in two years, though you don't know it. Don't forget how well I know you Darien." She looked at him with those disturbingly beautiful eyes. "Don't forget who loved you first."

Moments later, after Serena had long gone, Darien said softly, "I can't."

The next day there was to be a post-engagement lunch for those most affected by the joining of the two solar systems. Kaelin, her parents, and her advisors would all be there. And so would Serena, her Mother, and her Court. Of course they sat at opposite ends of the table, that's how the name cards were placed when the planner of the event left the small dining room.

But not how it would be if Mina could help it.

"Stand guard," Mina instructed Ami and Lita. "Use magic to sense people, eh?"

They nodded as Mina and Raye slipped into the dining room. A long table sat in the middle of the room with about twenty chairs around it. Two large chandeliers gleamed over it, and tapestries on the walls depicted scenes of great merriment. The two girls circled around the table, finding out where everyone was sitting.

"Darien is at the head of the table," Mina said. "And Kaelin at his right."

"Put her and her parents on the other side," Raye instructed, while collecting her and her friends' name cards.

"Why?"

"Because the left is associated with evil things while the right is associated with good."

"Oh, I see," Mina said. "Subliminal messages never hurt." She grabbed their name plates and put them on the other side while sliding the other names down and around the table.

Raye sat Serena's name on Darien's right, followed by Mina, then herself, Lita, Ami, and Queen Selenity.

"I think it's all set," she said, and they circled the table once more to be sure.

"Good, because dinner starts in ten minutes and we have to go pick up Serena to have an alibi."

They stepped out into the hallway and hurried towards Serena's room.

"Knock knock," Lita said as they opened the door. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Serena said, while putting in her earrings. "What's your hurry?"

"You know me," Mina said. "Always hungry."

Serena shook her head and laughed. "I swear, sometimes I think your stomach rules your body rather than your mind."

Mina shrugged.

"Ready girls?" Queen Selenity asked from the doorway.

"Yes, Mother," Serena said. They headed off for dinner, only Mina really expecting what chaos it would become.

When they arrived, people were already taking their seats and chatting. Serena scanned the end of the table, but could not find her name. She walked closer to the head of the table, her stomach knotting tighter with every chair she passed.

"This can't be right," she said as she arrived at her chair. "Why would they sit me here?"

Her friends shrugged innocently.

"And why would they put Mother so far away?"

No one knew, or so they said.

They took their seats, and Serena grew quiet, staring down at her empty plate. She was seated across from Darien's fiancé and her parents. This would not be good for any sort of relations between the Moon and the Calypso system. Not good at all.

"You must be in the wrong seat, dear," Kaelin's mother said with no attempt to sound polite at all.

"This is where my name card is," she said, turning the small card around to prove it.

Darien and Kaelin arrived last, each wearing a look of shock but covering well as they saw Serena sitting there. Dinner was served after they were seated, and the head of the table was terribly quiet; a silence Mina felt obliged to break.

"I'm sure you must be very excited, Kaelin," she said.

"I am," she said, beaming as she took hold of Darien's left hand. "Darien and I love each other very much."

Raye gagged on her food, and hid her laugh from behind her napkin. "So very sorry," she said. "I just realized I'm allergic to this."

Serena closed her eyes, blushing. She knew now that this whole thing was set up.

"You must know each other very well. Best friends even," Mina said, blue eyes glimmering. She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder, leaning into the conversation.

"Yes, we do," Kaelin said. Darien only glared at Mina.

"So is the Prince allergic to anything like poor Raye here?"

"Dogs," Kaelin said.

Serena cleared her throat. "And lilacs and bees and mold."

Mina was laughing inside for Kaelin's face was so dumbfounded. Her plan was unfolding well.

"Speaking of lilacs, what's his favorite flower?"

"Lilies," Kaelin said smugly, sure she had gotten this one right.

Serena could not keep quiet. "Roses."

All eyes except Serena's fell on Darien, waiting for him to verify who was correct. He cleared his throat nervously. "Serena is right."

Now Mina could barely control herself. "And his favorite time of day?"

"Stop it, Mina!" Serena yelled, glaring at her friend. She knew the answer to this question as well as she knew the rest.

"But it's dawn," Kaelin said dumbly.

Serena stood, staring down at Kaelin and her witless green eyes. "You're wrong," she choked out, beginning to cry. "It's night, because he can look at the Moon and think of me!"

Kaelin gazed helplessly at Darien. "Tell her she's wrong, Darien."

Darien looked up at his fiancé sadly. "I'd be lying."

"Well, then lie!" she yelled, her face turning red in embarrassment and anger. The entire room turned to watch. "She can't know everything about you!"

"But I do," Serena whispered.

"I wasn't talking to you, you witch!"

"Do not call her a witch!" Darien yelled, surprising everyone, including himself.

"So you're taking sides with her now?"

Darien did not answer and Kaelin stood, her chair screeching across the stone, then falling to the floor. She stalked out of the room, her parents at her heels. Darien glared at Mina.

"Keep out of this, Mina!" he hissed at her. "This is none of your business."

"It is my business!" she exclaimed. "It concerns the matters of love and the fact that you two belong together!"

"He's right," Serena said. "This is between him, Kaelin, and me."

"I'll talk to you later," he told Serena, standing to go after Kaelin.

"I'm afraid you won't," she said. "I'm going home, and from now on Mother will handle any relations with the Earth."

Darien could not stand the thought of never seeing Serena again. Before there had always been hope, always been a chance he'd see her once more. Now she was leaving him for good. Now she wasn't thinking about him and his happiness.

She was thinking about her own.

He took hold of her hands and stared straight into her eyes. "Please, stay for me, just this evening."

Serena had finally found within her the will to be angry at him. The resentment surged inside her, bubbling up to the surface until it glinted in her eyes like knives. The last thing she wanted to do was to wait for him so that he could talk to Kaelin first. No, she thought to herself, he can't have us both. He has to choose.

"Please," Darien begged, his eyes as wide as a child's.

Serena looked away, closing her eyes slowly, and sighing away her anger. "I suppose, but I'll stay not a minute past sundown."

"Thank you," he said, leaning forward to plant a quick kiss on her cheek. His back was to her when she raised her eyes. A blush spread across her cheeks like it was the first time he had kissed her and she felt foolish for reacting that way. The entire table stared at her, mouths agape.

"Excuse me," she said, trying to retain any dignity left. She hurried out of the room, her heels clicking below her and her heartbeat in her ears. She made her way back to her bedroom, and threw herself onto the bed. She felt very exhausted all of a sudden, like all of the stress had waited until this moment to spring. She felt as if she was floating outside of herself, rocking back and forth slowly like when she was a child. Her eyelids fell shut, and her breathing became calm and heavy.

"Serena."

Serena smiled as she recognized his voice, still lost in a dream. Her eyes remained shut as she reached up to draw Darien closer so she could kiss him. Her hand found his head, her fingers lost in his silky hair. She pulled him down and met his lips, like she had done so many times before. It felt lovely and right as his weight fell onto the bed; one hand slipping into her hair, and the other just right of her head kept him balanced. She could hear him breathe, feel his heart in his chest as she slid her hand across his shoulders and down to his front pocket.

She halted in her movements. Her eyes flitted open and she tore her lips from his. His midnight gaze revealed nothing to her but regret as he rolled away, lying beside her. She was wide awake now, the ceiling above her painted orange by the setting sun. Crystals in her lamps threw rainbows across the walls, like a misplaced paradise. She found his hand and entwined her fingers with his. She sent magic through him, silver glimmering in their hands. She felt his chagrin at being caught with the small box in his pocket.

"What has happened, Darien?" she asked, still studying the ceiling as it grew darker, the shadows casting darkness across the day. She must have slept all afternoon, missing any news of what Darien had said to Kaelin once he'd found her.

"Many things," he answered.

"Where is Kaelin?"

"She is on her way home."

She faced him, her eyes dancing with a wild hope.

"She was very angry," he began.

He found his fiancé in her room, crazily tossing clothes into her suitcase while her parents did nothing to stop her.

"What's going on?" he asked. Her parents glared at him, imagining a thousand deaths for him in their minds. Kaelin refused to look at him as she kept packing.

"I'm leaving," she said, sniffling.

"What? Why?" She did not answer. "Can we have a moment alone?" he asked, motioning for her parents to leave. They did not budge until their daughter nodded, then they left stiffly and reluctantly, not venturing two steps from the door.

"It's me or that wretch, Darien!" she told him once they were gone. Her eyes were swollen with tears and her brows were tightly knitted together.

"But I love you," he said quietly, holding her arms. This is what it was coming down to, and though he knew it would be like this all along, he wasn't prepared.

"And I love you," Kaelin answered, stroking his arm softly. "But that witch and her horrible friends are using magic on you, Darien!"

Darien dropped his arms, balling his hands into fists. "They have names!" he hissed. "And I wouldn't speak too loudly, 'that witch and her friends' could kill you in an instant!"

"Is that what keeps you pining after her?" she asked. "Fear?"

"Of course not! Serena would never do anything like that to me."

"But she has, hasn't she?" Kaelin wished to plant the seeds of doubt now, just as Serena had done the night before. "When she was disguised as a maid, didn't she use mind tricks on you?"

"That's different," he conceded.  
"How so?"

"She had to! We might have died had she not used magic."

"But she still used it," Kaelin pointed out, her eyes narrowing. "She is a treacherous snake, Darien."

Anger flared within him, and he was forced to turn away. "She is not any such thing. She's beautiful, and smart, and magical." He could not control the words spilling from his mouth, could not hide the truth. "She's so caring. Do you know she wished for us to meet? Wished for me to be happy?"

"Wishes don't come true like that," Kaelin said, desperate to regain control of Darien.

"Serena's do," he said. "And you know what else? She's funny and brilliant and…" He turned around, scaring Kaelin with the look of amazement in his eyes. Happiness she'd never given him danced there, flowing over. "And she loves me."

"So that's it?" she asked, new tears brimming and dripping down her cheeks. "You're choosing her?"

He smiled, failing to find what he'd seen in Kaelin before. "Yes, I am."

Serena sat up, looking down at him with utter happiness in her face. "Really?"

He nodded, standing up and taking her hands. "Really." He bent down, and kissed her softly. "Now come on."

He pulled her to her feet, running into the hallway and dragging her along. Portraits blurred past them, their curses on Serena replaced by smiles. He ran down the stairs, and she slid down the banister, laughing wildly at his expression as she breezed by. They met at the bottom and he took her hands once more, leading her down the halls. Servants watched them breeze past, chuckling and feeling content to see things were as they should be.

Darien threw open the doors to the courtyard and brought Serena to their west facing hill. Only a sliver of the sun remained above the treetops, winking at them with a golden eye. A flush rested in their cheeks, and they breathed heavily. They faced each other and Darien fell to one knee. He'd made a mistake with his last proposal; this one would be right. He reached into his pocket and drew out the ring.

No wind stirred the trees, and the fountains murmur grew quiet. The sun waited to disappear, not wishing to miss this. The Moon rose in the East, watching it's daughter grow continually nervous. From the windows of the castle servants peeked out, holding their breath.

Serena's heart beat rapidly in her chest, joy bubbling up inside of her and spilling out in waves of silver magic. She could barely breathe, and could not think as Darien spoke.

"I should have asked you this two years ago," he said, opening the box to reveal her diamond-sapphire ring. "Will you marry me, Serena?"

All her feelings rushed forward. All her memories with him swirled inside her mind, their meeting, their first dance, their first kiss, the curse. All the sadness and happiness, the anger and laughter. She felt so much in that moment and the words she wanted to say were caught in her throat. In answer to his question, she could only manage a quiet, choked,

"Yes."

Author's Note: Sorry it took so long. I hope you liked it. Hope you had a great summer!

Until the next time,

Ai No Senshi


End file.
